Metabolite Comparison between Spleen-Deficiency and Healthy Children.

Objective: From the perspective of metabolomics, this study compares the metabolomics characteristics of feces and urine between children with spleen-deficiency and healthy children to explain the scientific connotation of children with spleen-deficiency susceptibility to digestive system diseases from the metabolic level and provide a scientific basis for further research. Methods: This study included 20 children with spleen-deficiencies and 17 healthy children. Children's symptom scores, height, and weight were recorded in groups, and feces and urine samples were collected. The samples were detected using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Related differential metabolites were identified through database comparisons between two groups based on the MS and KEGG. Results: Compared to healthy children, the metabolites glucuronic acid, xanthine, and indole-3-acetaldehyde tend to be reduced in children with spleen-deficiency. Moreover, these children showed an increase in metabolites such as quinic acid, adenine, 4-methyl-5-thiazole-ethanol, 3-formyl indole, and 5-hydroxy indole-3-acetic acid. The condition affected many of the critical metabolic pathways, including the metabolism of tryptophan, cysteine, methionine, and pentose phosphate. Conclusion: The children with spleen-deficiency had disorders at the metabolic level, which might be due to factors such as diet, personal preferences, and genes, leading to various symptoms, making spleen-deficiency children more prone to suffer from digestive diseases than healthy children. The results set a basis for the research on children's TCM constitution, which can be a reference to further studies to deal with the spleen-deficiency.

Effect of massage therapy on infants with congenital muscular torticollis: A retrospective comparative study.

Objective: To detect the effect and safety of massage therapy on infants with congenital muscular torticollis. Methods: A total of 56 infants with unilateral congenital muscular torticollis were enrolled in this retrospective comparative study. The subjects were divided in two groups, namely, the control group and the massage group. The control group (n = 28) received the treatment of sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) stretching, while the massage group (n = 28) received massage therapy combined with SCM stretching. The following parameters were compared: the cervical range of motion (ROM) and functional level (muscle function scale and ratio of muscle function scale scores). Complications, if any, were also recorded. Results: Of the 56 infants, 7 infants (12.5%) underwent surgery with little functional improvement. The total effective rate of conservative treatment was 87.5%. No significance was found in terms of the surgery rate between both groups (14.29 vs. 10.71%, P = 0.693). After treatment, the ROM (including rotation and lateral flexion) and the ratio of muscle function scale scores improved significantly (P < 0.05). In the latest follow-up, the massage group showed a greater improvement in rotation and lateral flexion. However, no significant difference in the muscle function scale score ratio was found (P = 0.126). Importantly, no adverse events related to blood vessels, nerves, and SCM occurred. Conclusions: Providing massage therapy in infants with congenital muscular torticollis is a safe and effective method to improve the cervical range of motion and function. However, this study did not find any decrease in the surgical rate between two groups of patients despite adding such therapy.

[Academic thoughts of "pushing meridians to treat viscera diseases" in LIU' s infantile tuina in Xiangxi area].

As one of the most important schools of Chinese infantile tuina, the main academic thoughts of LIU's infantile tuina in Xiangxi area ware "pushing the meridians". In clinical treatment; he focuses on zang-fu syndrome differentiation and meridians tropism treatment, and based on the generation-inhibition of five elements as well as the infantile physiological and pathological characteristics, the "pushing meridians to treat viscera diseases" was gradually developed, which has enriched the academic connotation and performed a better guide for clinical pediatric treatment.